BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Lipscomb Bisons struck first in their exhibition match against UAB, Saturday, but were unable to come away with the victory, settling for a 2-2 tie at the Blazers West Campus Field.

“We had the lead twice and couldn’t hold it,” said Lipscomb head coach Charles Morrow. “The guys worked hard and put in the effort, but we’ve got to be able to close when we’ve got the lead.”

Senior Andrew Chamberlain opened the scoring early on, deflecting a 30-yard rocket past UAB’s Carl Woszcyzynski in the game’s opening minute to give the Bisons an early lead.

That lead wouldn’t last long, however. UAB drew a foul inside the penalty area, Blazers senior Babayele Sodade converted the penalty kick in the 17th minute to draw the score back to even.>

“Preseason games are about seeing guys in new roles, including freshmen,” said Morrow. “Many of our freshmen came out and played well tonight. It was good to get some questions answered about some of our guys.”

The Blazers were their own worst enemies much of the night, drawing an astounding seven offsides calls from the officials.

Lipscomb earned the ire of the man in the middle on more than a few occasions however, with sophomore Kevin Barbar earning a 35th-minute yellow card.

The Bisons held strong throughout most of the second half, but the relentless UAB attack finally broke through in the 78th minute. Sophomore Michael Brody chested in a pass off a free kick from senior Chris Williams to knot the game at two.

UAB peppered the net with 13 shots on the evening, putting five on net. The Bisons were more efficient, putting three of their five shots on goal.

Chamberlain attempted three shots, putting two on net on the evening as the offensive catalyst.

Senior keeper Brent McGee was exemplary in net for Lipscomb, stopping three Blazer shots to force the tie.

For the Bisons, they’ll return to Nashville for another week of training and one more exhibition match, Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Trevecca at the training field behind Cofer’s Chapel Church.

“I’m glad to have another opportunity (Wednesday) to get more questions answered before the regular season,” said Morrow.

That regular season kicks off Friday, August 26, with a home match against Georgia State at 3 p.m. Be sure to check back at Lipscombsports.com and follow men’s soccer on Twitter (@LUMSoccer) and the Lipscomb University Men’s Soccer Team page on Facebook.